John Mark probably knew Jesus
when Mark was a child or youth, even though Mark was not a disciple. The
Upper Room where the disciples often met in Jerusalem
may have been a room in the house of Mark's family.

Mark accompanied Paul
and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. Later he was Peter's
assistant. We believe that the account he wrote of Jesus' life and teachings
after the deaths of Peter and Paul was based mostly on Peter's teaching,
rather than on Mark's own personal experience.

Though Mark's family was clearly Jewish,
his entire missionary life seems to have been spent among the non-Jews of
the neighboring countries.

Mark's gospel was the first to be written
and circulated. The gospels of Matthew and Luke seem to expand on Mark's story.

Mark's gospel explodes with the sudden
appearance of John the Baptist, the voice crying
in the wilderness. He has no need to place Jesus in the context of family
and culture. From the very beginning, Jesus is the son of the living God,
and his life needs no other explanation.

An older class might enjoy reading Marked
by Steve Ross in a concurrent study of the Book of Mark.

Mark's symbol is the lion, because his
Gospel presents Jesus as the king of kings.